Getting Over the Holidays: Void Filled

I posted recently that I was having trouble filling this holiday void. I couldn't put a finger on exactly what I was missing, just that I could feel it in my body. I sat down and had a chat with Mr. IT Guy about it, and we planned out what we will do to recreate that atmosphere. We baked some lovely dinner rolls, made lunch, and watched some Christmas movies. Later, we had a lovely duck dinner with all the fixins':

We slept in on Christmas morning, and had a wonderful day full of treats, stocking stuffers, and mimosas, all the while watching a marathon of Big Bang Theory season 2. I dragged out my lace knitting and went to town. This is everything we would have done in America, but now I know exactly what was missing: Family.

What a simple thing to overlook. I mean, living abroad means you'll get homesick from time to time, and it's healthy to acknowledge that you're feeling homesick. I think the reason I overlooked it last year was because I missed the homecooking and the vacation quite a lot.

So, now I know exactly why I was feeling depressed. I was missing family. Next year, I'll know how to cope with the depressed feeling at the holidays so things will be even better than this year.

I also wanted to thank those people who sent me emails and posted comments who tried helping me with my dilemma. It was a great help, and seriously gave me some things to think about. :)

Now that Christmas is 'over' (it's not really over until early January for me), I need to start thinking about resolutions. In years past, it was things like learning how to make socks, spinning on a wheel, or getting a business up and running. I certainly haven't learned all that I can, so there must be something I should set as a goal for 2014.

In addition, I plan to get back into my peak martial arts form and reduce more chemicals from my diet and topicals. Perhaps I'll make my own lotions this year. We'll see!